The following is a list of substitutions for common cooking ingredients.
| ITEM | AMOUNT | SUBSTITUTION |
|---|---|---|
| Allspice | 1 teaspoon | ½ teaspoon cinnamon plus ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves |
| Arrowroot, as thickener | 1–½ teaspoons | 1 tablespoon flour |
| Baking powder | 1 teaspoon | ¼ teaspoon baking soda plus ⅝ teaspoon cream of tartar |
| Bread crumbs, dry | ¼ cup | 1 slice bread |
| Bread crumbs, soft | ½ cup | 1 slice bread |
| Buttermilk | 1 cup | 1 cup plain yogurt |
| Chocolate, unsweetened | 1 ounce | 3 tablespoons cocoa plus 1 tablespoon butter or fat |
| Cracker crumbs | ¾ cup | 1 cup dry bread crumbs |
| Cream, heavy | 1 cup | ¾ cup milk plus ⅓ cup melted butter (this will not whip) |
| Cream, light | 1 cup | ⅞ cup milk plus 3 tablespoons melted butter |
| Cream, sour | 1 cup | ⅞ cup buttermilk or plain yogurt plus 3 tablespoons melted butter |
| Cream, whipping | 1 cup | ⅔ cup well-chilled evaporated milk, whipped; or 1 cup nonfat dry milk powder whipped with 1 cup ice water |
| Flour, all-purpose | 1 cup | 1–⅛ cups cake flour; or ⅝ cup potato flour; or 1–¼ cups rye flour or coarsely ground whole-grain flour; or 1 cup cornmeal |
| Flour, cake | 1 cup | 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour |
| Flour, self-rising | 1 cup | 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1–¼ teaspoons baking powder plus ¼ teaspoon salt |
| Garlic | 1 small clove | ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder or instant minced garlic |
| Herbs, dried | ½ to 1 teaspoon | 1 tablespoon fresh herbs, minced and packed |
| Honey | 1 cup | 1–¼ cups sugar plus ½ cup liquid |
| Lemon juice | 1 teaspoon | ½ teaspoon vinegar |
| Lemon, juice and rind | 1 | 3 tablespoons bottled lemon juice and 1 teaspoon dried grated rind |
| Lemon rind, grated | 1 teaspoon | ½ teaspoon lemon extract |
| Milk, skim | 1 cup | ⅓ cup instant nonfat dry milk plus ¾ cup water |
| Milk, sour | 1 cup | 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon milk plus 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice. Stir and let stand 5 minutes. |
| Milk, whole | 1 cup | ½ cup evaporated milk plus ½ cup water; or 1 cup skim milk plus 2 teaspoons melted butter |
| Mustard, prepared | 1 tablespoon | 1 teaspoon dry or powdered mustard |
| Onion, chopped | 1 small | 1 tablespoon instant minced onion; or 1 teaspoon onion powder; or ¼ cup frozen chopped onion |
| Sugar, granulated | 1 cup | 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar; or 1–¾ cups confectioners’ sugar (do not substitute in baking); or ½ cup honey; or 1 cup superfine sugar; or 1–½ cups corn syrup; or ⅔ cup maple syrup (for last two, reduce liquid in recipe by 25 percent) |
| Tomatoes, canned | 1 cup | ½ cup tomato sauce plus ½ cup water; or 1–⅓ cups chopped fresh tomatoes, simmered |
| Tomato juice | 1 cup | ½ cup tomato sauce plus ½ cup water plus dash each salt and sugar; or ¼ cup tomato paste plus ¾ cup water plus salt and sugar, to taste |
| Tomato ketchup | ½ cup | ½ cup tomato sauce plus 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves |
| Tomato puree | 1 cup | ½ cup tomato paste plus ½ cup water |
| Tomato soup | 1 can (10–¾ oz.) | 1 cup tomato sauce plus ¼ cup water |
| Vanilla | 1-inch bean | 1 teaspoon vanilla extract |
| Yeast | 1 cake (⅗ oz.) | 1 package active dry yeast |
| Yogurt, plain | 1 cup | 1 cup buttermilk |
